My first goal in photography is to capture things I have not photographed before. The second is to just get quality shots. I have a good eye for photography, but not the technological patience to become exceptional at it. I just keep an eye out, put myself in special locations when I can, and hope for the best. Here are a few shots that stood out for me in 2014, taken by myself and my wife Rhiannon. They aren’t all pretty, but they have meaning for me. Enjoy!

I made a driving milestone late in the winter and had to pull over and take a photo of the occasion.

I never wanted a white vehicle, but I got a good deal. Bought new in 2000. One owner. Average mileage per year: about 22,000.

May in Utah's San Rafael Swell. I love this place, and I love this desert flower. It's called a Globe Mallow. Some years I don't see these at all, but in wetter years they grow well.

Y'all can keep the mountain bikes. I'm driving!

Miner's quarters.

You damn kids get outa my mine!!

On the yellow blooming slopes of Kataka Mountain on Independence Day, heading up to summit at 12,441 feet.

Four curious bull elk from a much larger herd going down the mountain while we were going up.

A mule deer fawn in our neighborhood

I have more success photographing insects than I do other animals, especially butterflies.

We have a pretty good view from our mountain home of summer storms on the eastern plains. These kinds of photos never capture just how dramatic these massive clouds are.

We are fortunate to see great rainbows multiple times every summer.

Coming down off of Mount Parnassus, elevation 13,574-feet. My friend's dog is a total nutbag, but this is a great, happy shot of her.

Not something you see on your house every day, this bat was a nice surprise one afternoon, lounging under the overhang of our roof.

Enjoyed running into this pretty pair on a trail in Ocean Shores, Washington in July.

This is what mating dragonflies look like. Probably my favorite photo of the year, taken while hiking in the Quinault Rain Forest in Olympic National Park.

Another one from the rain forest. I love the water drops on the underside of this fungus.

Foxglove. My favorite flower of the Northwest.

Mid-July on the Washington Pacific coast. The one day out of a whole week that was sunny.

Chicory flower in Idaho

Mourning Cloak

It was a great year for gardening, but we also harvest wild things on our property. Rhiannon found a puffball mushroom the size of a baseball. Before they dry up and go to spore they are actually quite tasty.

All cooked up!

A moth having lunch while we were hiking in the Rampart Range.

Same scene, different mountain. Another photo with the dog in a patch of yellow flowers, this time at the base of Mt. Bancroft.

Our crazy cat Yeti

Mountain biking in the Buffalo Creek area

A juvenile Swainson’s hawk on the roof of one of the buildings I work at.

A praying mantis chowing down. Only the second one I've seen in Denver over the last 19 years.

Taking a well-deserved break after a very difficult climb up Mt. Bancroft, elevation 13,250-feet.

The coolest cairn ever. Near the summit of Parry Peak, elevation 13,391-feet.

Partial solar eclipse in October. Seemed like no one was really aware of this amazing event. I have a camera and a solar lens, but not a solar lens for my camera! This is the best I could do holding my lens in front of my camera. Amazingly I was just steady enough that you can see sunspots.

A fine smokey quartz crystal I found under an inch or two of dirt.

One more of the dog for the road...

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CURRENT THOUGHTS…

It's basic math and a simple understanding of economics, environmental factors, resources, and human needs: As long as our world population continues to grow, our collective way of life on Earth will grow more complex and stressful, and our society will deteriorate. If you haven't already noticed that in your lifetime you are either too young or a part of the problem.

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